Angelina and Neches River Railroad celebrates 125-year anniversary

LUFKIN, Texas (KTRE) - The Angelina and Neches River Railroad Company was founded in the 1900’s and is credited as a key factor in the economic development of the City of Lufkin. This year they are celebrating 125 years of service.

“It’s been a staple ever since it was founded,” said Keith Dover, the railroad’s superintendent.

Dover said over the years their focus has changed.

“It kind of transitioned from the lumber into other commodities for the railroad,” Dover said.

Today it’s a storage facility for train cars and provides services for some local businesses like Atkinson Candy Company. They receive their syrup by rail. But it started as a way to transport logs from the Pineywoods to the Angelina County Lumber Company.

“There was such a need to get the lumber into the places that it needed to go,” Campbell said.

The company’s VP of accounting, Terry Campbell, said they were also a major service for Lufkin’s Southland Paper Mill.

“Back when the papermill was running, we serviced them a tremendous amount of cars,” Campbell said.

The company grew early on.

“They saw a need for a railroad track in the community that could carry more than just lumber,” said Brookylnn Cryer, the company’s financial accounting specialist.

There’s something else that makes the railroad’s anniversaries special.

“Four families started a railroad, and the same four families still own the railroad, their descendants,” Dover said. “They are continuing a legacy their forefathers started.”

Today they own 28 miles of track and use 3.5 miles of Union Pacific tracks. They are one of the more than 600 short line railroads in the nation. While not as prominent as they were, Dover said railroads are here to stay.

“We haul four and a half truckloads, 18-wheeler loads in one boxcar,” Dover said. “It’s transportation, they move on highways we move on rail. Trains are not going away; they’re going to be here from now on.”

The Angelina and Neches River Railroad is celebrating their 125th anniversary on Tuesday, Oct. 28 starting at 10 a.m. It will be at their office at 2225 Spence St. in Lufkin, the public is invited. People will have the chance to tour their locomotives.